El Viejo
"El Viejo" is the seventh episode of Miami Vice's third season. The episode premiered on November 7, 1986. Summary Crockett and Tubbs watch a cantankerous old man who they feel cut a deal with a murderous Bolivian drug dealer. Plot Vince Wilson from Broward Narcotics Division is with Castillo in OCB looking for a dealer named Mendez, Switek is working the case so they get together and share notes. Wilson's cover is a cowboy-looking truck driver, and declines Switek's request to be backup for a meet that night. Wilson meets with Mendez, but is made for a cop by one of his goons and is shot dead with a shotgun. As they leave, Mendez walks by Wilson's lifeless body and rolls him off the dock and into the water. Two months later at a stakeout, a man named Rickles (Steve Buscemi) takes Crockett inside a museum to meet Mendez, a security guard stumbles on the deal and has to take him along, and an old man (Willie Nelson) also appears, but Crockett gets him out. Inside the museum, Mendez is waiting with the cocaine in a snakeskin case, but suddenly he leaves, the guard runs but is shot down, and the case is dropped by Mendez' goon while escaping. At OCB, Crockett breaks down what happened, that Rickles distributes for Mendez, he wanted Crockett to run 50 keys to Baton Rouge but agreed to two keys as a dry run, which got him the intro to Mendez. A call came into the St. Vitus Dance from Mendez wanting the case that was dropped from the deal. The case cannot be located and was not found at the scene, Castillo wants Mendez and will try to find a replacement inside. The case was picked up by the old man, who is a cowboy of some kind, pawns an antique gun and checks into a luxury hotel. Gina & Trudy spot him there, with the case, telling one of Mendez' goons he has the case and if someone wants to deal to see him. On the boat, Crockett is having a hard time letting go about the guard's death, when Rickles stops by and gives him a number to reach him when he finds the briefcase. Gina calls Crockett about the old man at the hotel. The old man (El Viejo) gets a visit from Mendez' goon who wants his case back, and when he tries to take it Viejo pulls his gun and lets him know he can get it back for $10,000. After disposing of the goon, Viejo clutches his chest and starts to see visions of old-time gun fights with Mexicans. Crockett & Tubbs see him in the hallway, Viejo takes a shot before collapsing, Tubbs finds the old man's nitroglycerin and gives him a pill. Viejo is in bed while Crockett & Tubbs vainly try to find the case, Viejo wants a finder's fee from Mendez, Crockett says Mendez has killed people for much less, but Viejo says he'll cut them in if they watch his back. Viejo shows them a sample of what was in the case, and they decide to play along with him, but Tubbs will take the gun to OCB to see whose prints are on it. Castillo wants Crockett off the case if he can't keep his mind on it and off the guard that was killed. Tubbs will watch him and set up a new deal with Rickles. Viejo is on Crockett's boat, but agrees to follow them on the meet with Rickles. Mendez orders Crockett & Tubbs killed, no deals, so his goons arm up and shoot at Crockett & Tubbs on a freeway. Viejo (driving Tubbs' car) forces the van off the road and it runs into a bus, then Crockett shoots down all the goons, with one survivor. They go to see Rickles and rough him up, and they let him know if Mendez doesn't agree to a finder's fee for El Viejo he is going to sell his stuff on the street. Gina stops by with El Viejo's real identity--Jake Pierson, who lives in the Royal Hotel in South Beach, a rather rundown location. They find him living on cat food, and a box with a star in it--he was a Texas Ranger. The search finds very old guns, and a pawn receipt for his 1936 Colt Peacemaker. Crockett was a big fan of the Rangers and told the stories of how they sent one man in to clear out an entire town, with his backup on his hip, the man that took down Bonnie & Clyde, etc. Tubbs is going back to question the hit man driver, he went into surgery after questioning, Castillo orders round-the-clock guards, orders Mendez arrested for murder one, and Pierson taken down for possession. Pierson gets a call from Rickles while Gina is on the boat, but he won't tell her anything. Crockett stops by with Pierson's badge, and they talk about his days in the Rangers, when he & his partner took down the Rujeros Gang, a group of gun runners from Mexico, how his partner took the bullet that should have killed him...and he took care of his partner's family to this day. Crockett gets the info where Pierson's meet is, but then Pierson knocks him out, ties him up and escapes in Crockett's cigarette boat under a hail of Tubbs' gunfire. Pierson was wounded in the exchange, so the hotel manager goes to check on him, Pierson gives him his badge to mail to someone, and a generous tip for the trouble. While Mendez' and his goons arm themselves with automatic weapons, Pierson straps his peaceshooters on his belt. The Vice cops arrive at Pierson's room and find him gone, leaving his nitroglycerin behind. Crockett knows what this means and storms out. In the hotel lobby, Tubbs reads the letter enclosed with the badge, and find that Vince Wilson, the Broward cop that was killed by Mendez was Pierson's partner's son, and that Pierson has gone to shoot it out with the people that killed him at the cemetery where Wilson was buried. The shootout starts, Mendez and his goons are killed, Pierson is mortally wounded, Crockett goes to him, tells him he's a cop (he had never told Pierson this before), but Pierson said he knew all along and dies. Notes * This episode was originally set to be the season opener, but was held back as it was felt having the Ferrari Daytona blown up in "When Irish Eyes Are Crying" would make a better start to the third season. Due to this, the Daytona makes a return, causing a continuity error. * Don Johnson held out for more money between seasons 2 and 3, and this episode was held (nearly preventing Willie Nelson's appearance) until the issue was resolved, which was when Michael Mann threatened to replace Johnson with Mark Harmon, who had left the show St. Elsewhere (and currently stars in NCIS). * Instead of smoking, Switek likes to chew Red Man tobacco. Smoking among the main characters (especially Crockett) was phased out during this season. * El Viejo means "An old person" in Spanish. * The Texas Rangers have been in existence since 1835, as of 2009 there are 144 active Rangers, now under the Texas Department of Public Safety. They have been featured in countless movies, TV shows, and books. * In the scene where Pierson forces the van and its' shooters off the road, you can see briefly the "Cowboy Cadillac" license plate is missing in one shot, then is back in another. * In the closing credits it states "Crockett's Car Furnished by Ferrari North America" when the fake Ferrari Daytona was used in the episode. * In real life, Don Johnson was good friends with Willie Nelson. They even played some music together. Music *"Wanted Dead Or Alive" by Bon Jovi (at stakeout and deal with Mendez) *"State of Emergency" by Cactus World News (El Viejo confronts Mendez' goon and end sequence with Pierson shootout with Mendez) *"Flies On The Windscreen" by Depeche Mode (Mendez' goons arm up and shoot at Crockett & Tubbs) Quotes *"He likes your (snakeskin) shoes, and wonders how you can afford them, on a cop's salary!" -- Mendez' goon to Wilson before Wilson is shot *"The poor guy ate a six-pack and cut his gums on the plastic rings!" -- Crockett to Switek on why they had to take Elvis to the vet en route to the stakeout *"That's just great, a dealer with a bad ticker!" -- Crockett upon spotting Pierson *"This Bolivian, he don't mess around, in fact I don't even think he can spell "mess around"!" -- Crockett to Pierson *''"This one's still breathing, shoot him!" --'' Pierson to Crockett in regards to the hit driver. *"Sometimes the low road takes you where the high road can't!" -- Pierson to Crockett Category:Miami Vice Season 3 Episodes